U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is headed to Washington Thursday, the day before he is sworn in as the country’s 45th chief executive in a time-honored ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
“The journey begins and I will be working and fighting very hard to make it a great journey for the American people,” Trump said in a Twitter comment. “I have no doubt that we will, together, make America great again,” invoking his trademark campaign slogan.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump’s inaugural address Friday “will be personal, about his vision. Less about agenda, more philosophical.”
Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the victors in one of the most contentious U.S. national elections ever, are taking part in several events Thursday ahead of their assuming power at noon Friday for four-year terms.
Pence said Thursday that the incoming Trump administration will be “ready to serve the American people on day one.” He also thanked outgoing President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for their cooperation in the transition effort.
Both Trump and Pence are attending a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 400,000 military veterans and family members are buried.
Later, Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul turned Republican politician, is speaking at a concert and celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Both Trump and Pence and other key officials in the new administration are expected at a candlelight dinner with campaign donors at Washington’s Union Station train depot.
Trump is spending his last night as a private citizen at Blair House, a residence for dignitaries across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Even as officials prepare for the inauguration, with all the pomp and solemnity linked to the transfer of power in the United States as President Barack Obama leaves office after eight years as the American leader, two more of Trump’s Cabinet selections face confirmation hearings before Senate panels.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, picked as Trump’s energy secretary, is saying that he regrets his comment during his unsuccessful 2012 presidential bid that the Department of Energy he now would head should be abolished.
“My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking,” Perry said in prepared remarks. “In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination.”
Treasury Secretary-designate Steve Mnuchin is also facing tough questions about his oversight of a bank that foreclosed on homeowners, costing them their homes, at the height of the U.S. recession in 2009.
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